BSLA Fieldbook BSLA 2015 Spring Fieldbook | Page 57

?
Besides Symphony

Park and Bentley
University, what other
work is going on at
Pate Adams?
Nat: We have a Newport,

design solutions that address design issues at
many scales. RISD informs my work today by
allowing me to think beyond a good solution
to a good design. That “beyond thinking”
filters through everything I design.

What?is your current favorite plants?
Nat: Hakonechloa is a beautiful foliage
perennial, it’s a great addition to any site.
Rhus typhina is native to this area and I’m
so glad to see it become more accepted, as it
has been used in high-profile sites such as
Wellesley College and the High Line. It has
beautiful structure with three-season appeal.

Jon: My favorite natives are Nyssa
sylvatica and Fothergilla gardenii. I’ll choose
Kirengeshoma palmata and all Sanguisorbas
for the adaptive species.

At Pate Adams, what websites do you
?
load first each day?
Jon: I start off each morning by reading
magazines such as Garden & Gun,
Horticulture, and the New Yorker. At some
point during the day, I will flip through
Coolhunting online to get some digital
inspiration.

Nat: Asana! That’s my pick for best new
web/mobile application to enable teamwork
and project tracking.

Rhode Island residence that
will be finished this spring.
It has been a fun project for
a very charismatic client,
who has a fire-breathing steel
dragon sculpture. We are
also working on a retirement community in
Duxbury, due to wrap up in the fall of 2015.

A lot of the firms that have sprung up
lately have a strong commitment to
?
community. In which organizations are
you most active?
Jon: We have both been involved over
the years in Community Outreach Group
(COGdesign), which provides pro bono
landscape design work to other non-profits.
I am also very enthusiastic about Common
Boston, a BSA sub-committee, and am the
BSLA/ASLA’s Public Awareness Liaison.

Nat: I am also currently helping Beautiful
Newtonville with their vision for Walnut
Street, and chairing BSLA’s membership
committee which includes promoting
member benefits (see page 18).

Do you have any advice for others when
?
starting your own company?
Jon: It’s terrific having a business partner
for endless reasons. It’s also the number one
comment I hear from sole practitioners—
that they wish they had a partner for idea
exploration, sharing workloads, etc. Simply
find the folks that want to help you: ask all
your friends! One fun surprise is that people
are very excited to be among your first
clients. In addition, the best clients make
new connections for you because they want
you to succeed.

Nat Started Out Born and raised in the Adirondacks
Education Mount Ida, SUNY Adirondack , BLA RISD
Now Pate Adams
Boston Society of Landscape Architects Fieldbook

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